Mirren wins London theatre award for Queen Elizabeth II portrayal

LONDON -Helen Mirren was named best actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Audience” at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards on Sunday while the best actor award was split between Rory Kinnear and Adrian Lester as the leads in “Othello”. The award for best play on the London stage went to Lucy Kirkwood for “Chimerica”, an exploration of the relationship between the United States and China as seen through the eyes of an American photojournalist trying to track down a young protester who faced down a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

A revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”, a flop on Broadway in 1981, was named best musical while Richard Eyre won best director for a revival of Ibsen’s “Ghosts”.

“People come from around the world to see plays in London,” Mayor Boris Johnson said as he made his way into the awards banquet at the Savoy Hotel.